Costa Mesa's trash and other special district fees are piling up like, well, trash - here at the Bowerman landfill that receives the city's refuse.

JEBB HARRIS, JEBB HARRIS/ORANTE COUNTY REGISTER

After dutifully paying my taxes in April to the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board and the Orange County Tax Collector, I heard Dr. Phil's voice in my head asking, "How's that working for you in Costa Mesa?"

"Experts" bombard us daily with news about the state of the economy, the state of the nation and state of the state. Terms like jobs, GDP, taxes, sequester, "the rich" and "fair share" permeate the airwaves, newsprint and social media. Politicians assure us they are moving us in the right direction: forward. Are they?

It seems complicated. Let's simplify and look just at Costa Mesa and see what we learn.

I looked at my property taxes and saw they increased 18 percent over the last 10 years. OK. But the myriad add-on taxes and fees – for water, trash and other special districts – increased 205 percent. Wow!

Our Costa Mesa governments and agencies "need" us to pay more. And we are. Social Security taxes are up 2 percent. Property taxes are up 2 percent (per Proposition 13). Sales taxes are up 0.25 percent, and income taxes for high earners are up (per Proposition 30). The gas tax is up 3.5 cents per gallon.

But the Orange County Sewer District tripled its rates over the last 10 years and approved five annual increases averaging 3 percent. The Costa Mesa Sanitary District is proposing a 24 percent rate increase next year and four 2 percent annual increases thereafter. Coast Community College District is issuing $698 million in new bonds, with 20 years left to go to pay for Measure C's $370 million in bonds issued in 2002.

We citizens are often told it's only a few dollars more. Let's do the math for a "typical" Costa Mesa household with a $70,000 income and $400,000 property tax base.

That's a lot of change. Experts wonder why consumers are not spending more. We are, just on taxes and fees.

Officials tell us that the economy is better, implying Costa Mesa taxpayers can afford it.

You know the definitions: A recession is when your neighbor is out of work; a depression is when you are out of work. The Register noted that for Orange County, "In March, the number of payroll jobs stood at 1,417,800 – down from a peak of 1,539,800 in December 2006." Nationally, median incomes are down 10 percent over the last four years.

It's high time our officials stop talking about hope and change their ways; they must live within the means of their citizen taxpayers.

California is 10 percent of the U.S. economy, so California's problems affect the nation as well as Costa Mesa.

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